114 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving
101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving.Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. http://www.pfeiffer.comText Tickler Handout
Assume you own a hotel chain and want to attract more customers. First, you need to
select some random stimulus words. You are reading a newspaper while flying with sev-
eral of your staff members to visit one of your hotels.
While reading movie reviews, you see the word “grumpy.” This word sparks the idea
of offering “Grumpy Room Service.” All food orders are delivered by a grumpy delivery
person as a novelty service. Or in another variation of Grumpy Room Service, give guests
a free meal if any staff member treats them grumpily. Then look for another word and
choose “research.” This word might trigger the idea of in-room computers with easy-to-
access business databases for the business traveler. Finally, you see the word “film” and
think of installing picture phones in all the rooms.05 VG 77-118b 10/5/04 5:05 PM Page 114